Maxima Grupė, which operates retail chains in the Baltics, Poland and Bulgaria, successfully placed a EUR 300 million issue of 5-year bonds. The bonds were purchased by more than 60 investors from 14 countries. Among them – one third from Baltic and Scandinavian region, rest of them – from other European countries. Demand for the securities exceeded supply.
“In talks with potential investors this past week we saw a lot of interest and got positive signals from the market. That encouraged our decision to proceed with the debut offering immediately. The successful completion of the offering is a historical step for Maxima Grupė, which has thus decisively entered the international capital market. It is also a proof that the company has reached the maturity that allowed us to gain international investors’ confidence and use the same financial instruments as large European retailers,” says Maxima Grupė Chairman of the Board and CEO Dalius Misiūnas.
The annual fixed coupon of the bonds will be 3.25%, company’s bonds were placed at 3.5% yield. Settlement for them will take place on 13 September 2018. Following the sale, listing of the bonds on the Euronext Dublin and Nasdaq Vilnius securities exchanges is planned.
“Maxima Grupė is the first private company in Lithuania to enter the international capital market this year and has successfully placed the biggest-ever issue of bonds by a private company in the Baltics. In that way the company has shown that it is able to raise a record amount from institutional investors in both local and international markets. This step by Maxima Grupė increases the company’s transparency, demonstrates international recognition, and also confirms that investors look favourably on the group’s financial outlook and expansion plans. We think there are more companies in Lithuania that could take advantage of this example and diversify their sources of financing,” says Vilius Juzikis, a Member of the Board and the Head of Corporate Banking at SEB Bankas.
In July, the international credit rating company Standard & Poor’s assigned Maxima Grupė a BB+ credit rating with a stable outlook. Maxima Grupė thus became the first locally owned private company in the Baltics – and one of the few retailers in all of Eastern and Central Europe – to obtain and publish an international credit rating. To the company’s knowledge, the rating is the highest among European retail companies of comparable size (with annual revenue of up to EUR 4 billion).
Maxima Grupė selected BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and SEB Bankas as the arrangers and dealers for its bond programme and offering. The legal advisors of Maxima Grupė were Clifford Chance LLP, which was leading legal advisor of Maxima Grupė, and TGS Baltic, which advised Maxima Grupė in respect of Lithuanian law. The legal advisors of the Banks were Linklaters LLP and Ellex Valiūnas.
